


Panic Attack

by Captain_Jade



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Brotherly Bonding, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23792971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Jade/pseuds/Captain_Jade
Summary: “Dustin? Why are you calling me at one in the morning?” Steve slurs, annoyed and still mostly asleep.Dustin doesn’t answer right away. Steve sits up in bed and repeats, “Dustin. Why are you calling me at-”“I’m sorry,” the voice on the other end of the phone is almost unrecognizable. It’s quiet and panicked and it gives Steve the feeling that something is wrong. All the annoyance melts away and is replaced by worry."Hey," he says softly. "What's wrong?""I...I don't know..."
Relationships: Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 59





	Panic Attack

“Dustin? Why are you calling me at one in the morning?” Steve slurs, annoyed and still mostly asleep.

Dustin doesn’t answer right away. Steve sits up in bed and repeats, “Dustin. Why are you calling me at-”

“I’m sorry,” the voice on the other end of the phone is almost unrecognizable. It’s quiet and panicked and it gives Steve the feeling that something is wrong. All the annoyance melts away and is replaced by worry.

“You okay?” he asks, softer this time.

“N-No. I…” Dustin’s voice cracks, which  _ really  _ gets Steve worried.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“...I...I d-don’t know, it’s…” Dustin pauses. “Can you please...can you please come over t-to my house? My...my mom’s not home and I...I don’t know what’s wrong, I just…” a quiet sob is heard from Dustin’s end of the phone.

Steve’s already getting his coat on. “Yeah, of course. I’ll be right there. Just...sit tight, okay? I’ll be there soon.”

“O-okay.”

Not five minutes later, Steve knocks on Dustin’s door. Immediately, it opens, and Dustin throws his arms around Steve, sobbing into his shirt.

“Woah, hey...hey, buddy, let’s go inside, okay?”

Dustin gasps for breath as Steve leads him over to the couch and helps him sit down.

“I...I’m sorry,” Dustin gasps. Steve wraps a steady arm around him and instinctively squeezes him.

“Hey. Shhhh. It’s okay. You’re safe.”

They sit there for a long time, until Dustin finally calms down.

“I’m sorry,” Dustin repeats, resting his head on Steve’s shoulder exhaustedly. “I...I don’t know what that was. I just felt like...like I was dying. I’m sorry, that sounds dumb. I just...I…”

“No, that doesn’t sound dumb. I know exactly what that was. You had a panic attack,” Steve tells him.

“What’s that?”

“Umm...I don’t know exactly how to explain it medically, but...it sometimes happens when you’ve experienced trauma and something triggers it. Did...anything happen? To trigger a memory?”

“Just a nightmare. I’ve had plenty of those before. Nothing like this has ever happened.”

Steve nods. “Well, I’m glad you called me. If it ever happens again, you can always call me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Alright. I should probably get back home.” Steve stands back up and opens the door.

“Wait…” Dustin murmurs. “Um...can...can you stay here? My mom won’t be back until, like, noon, and I don’t...I don’t want to be alone…” He looks down, embarrassed.

“Oh. Yeah. Yeah, that’s okay.”

“Also...how’d you know? What a panic attack is?”

Steve waves his hand dismissively. “It’s nothing.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, thank you.”

“Any time, bud.”


End file.
